BEML Awarded Rolling Stock Contract for Kolkata’s EW Line
After multiple rounds of tendering over 6 years, the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation has again awarded the Rolling Stock contract for Kolkata Metro’s under construction East-West line! This time, the winner is Bangalore based BEML which emerged as the sole bidder for the contract in September 2015. As per the contract valued at Rs 900 crore, they will supply 14 train-sets of 6 coaches each for a grand total of 84 coaches. The first train-set is expected to be delivered in 18 months from now.
With a technology transfer agreement in place with South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem, BEML has in the past supplied coaches for Jaipur, Bangalore and the Delhi Metro. Prior to this, in 2009 the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) had awarded the Rolling Stock contract to Spain’s Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF), but due to cost escalation issues and non-payment of Rs. 70 crore (10% of cost) by KMRC as a mobilization advance, the company pulled out of the project in 2014.
Design submitted by CAF in 2009 – Photo Copyright CAF/The Hindu
Map of Kolkata’s East-West metro line
The East-West line from Salt Lake’s Sector V to Howrah was envisioned to be 14.67 km long, but due to a realignment in central Kolkata, this figure has now slightly increased. As things stand, all alignment & land acquisition issues have been sorted out and only a couple of clearances are pending before work begins at Lal Dighi. What’s good is that construction workers & engineers have returned to all underground sites. On January 8, engineers from Afcons lowered a TBM’s cradle at the Howrah Maidan station following which the station box’s diaphragm wall was perforated by a drilling machine to form the tunnel’s eye through which the up-line’s TBM will bore.
If no new issues arise, then testing on the line’s primarily elevated 1st phase from Sector V to Phoolbagan will commence in Q3 2017 and open for commercial operations in Q3 2018 as recently announced by India’s Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu. Followed by that, the 2nd phase from Phoolbagan to Howrah will start commercial operations in Q3 2019.
For more updates on Kolkata’s Metro, check out the Kolkata section of The Metro Rail Guy!
– TMRG
BEML didn’t had any agreement with Hyundai Rotem for Jaipur Metro, for JM it supplied rakes on its own.
Yes, they bid for Jaipur’s Metro on their own, but the base technology & design of the trains have been sourced from a ToT from Hyundai Rotem.
source? why would hyundai just give away the tech when they can milk it for a lot more money?
Please see:
1. “BEML has another technology pact with South Korea’s Rotem for the metro coaches.” – The Hindu July 10, 2009
2. “The memorandum of agreement dated 11.6.2004 referred to above between BEML and ROTEM (at page 161 of the petition) however provides in clause 1 as follows : 1.1 ROTEM will offer technology and technical assistance to BEML to manufacture and supply Broad Gauge and Standard Gauge EMU metro coaches” – Unknown vs Kolkata Metro Railway via IndianKanoon.org
Hi
can any one share contact person detail in BEML for supplying of Fire and Safety equipt.